


TROS Alternate Scenes

by yodalorian



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Ben lives, Canon Rewrite, F/M, Happy Ending, Movie: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, my tros therapy sessions, rey doesn't stay on tatooine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-14
Updated: 2020-03-14
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:53:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23145730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yodalorian/pseuds/yodalorian
Summary: reimagining scenes from The Rise of Skywalker that I would've liked more
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 8
Kudos: 12





	1. Chapter 1

Gasping, Ben Solo clawed his way out of the pit. Kylo Ren may have just laid there in the deep underworld, but not Ben Solo. He stumbled forward, muscles aching and limbs screaming, but still forward.

He saw Rey. His heart sank like a cold lead weight. He tried to run, but his legs gave out, yet he still dragged himself across the rough rocks until he was by her side. No. No no no no no. He cradled her in his arms, but her skin was cold and her body was stiff.

He pressed his fingers to her neck, but the warm, vibrant pulse that once beat there, that had shared some of its own life to save his, was gone. Only emptiness remained.

Tears began to slide down his cheeks, burning his eyes and chilling his skin, but he hurriedly wiped them away. There was no time for that now. Ben took a deep breath, centering himself in the Force. Peace. The way Luke had taught him.

It came back to him instantly, like the Force had been waiting all these years for him to come home. He rested his hand on Rey's abdomen and breathed, feeling the Living Force like a warm current around him, but when it touched Rey it simply vanished.

He dove deeper through its waves, pushing it out of him, flooding Rey. He felt his heart begin to falter as hers began to flutter. With nobody else there, trying to save love alone, Ben Solo began to die.

But he wasn't alone. The Force moved powerfully, a tidal wave crashing into him. It had raised up its heroes and wouldn't abandon them now. Whispers surrounded Ben, but not the seductive lies of Snoke and Vader and Palpatine. Now Leia's voice murmured against his cheek and Luke's breath was warm on his skin. Anakin Skywalker guided his heart and Han Solo guided his hand. 

The dyad, their mysterious, indestructible, irrepressible bond, reawakened, more powerfully than ever. It was love, and love was the Force, and the Force was life itself. Rey gasped, her eyes clearing, warmth flooding her and making Ben forget the cold.

And then, the cold really wasn't there. Her Living Force erupted with new ferocity, swirling together with his, banishing the darkness from Exegol and making it their new Wellspring of Life. The Force overflowed out into the galaxy, resurrecting the dead and redeeming the lost.

She looked into his eyes with a look Ben hadn't seen for a very long time. For the first time since he died in the flames of the Jedi Temple, for the first time in a long time even before that, Ben Solo smiled.

They were alive. They were together. It was all that mattered.


	2. Chapter 2

"There hasn't been someone here for a very long time," the old woman muttered. She gripped the reins of her beast and fixed Rey with a suspicious look. "Who are you?"

Rey smiled. She looked past the woman into the deep blue Tatooine sky. The hot air shimmered, and like a mirage, Luke and Leia were there. Her guiding lights. They were no illusion; they were as real as ever. Rey took a deep breath, feeling yet again, as she often did now, thousands of years in her. As the spirit of the Jedi flowed through her, they manifested, with unfamiliar faces but familiar stories. Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luminara Unduli, Aayla Secura, Kanan Jarrus, Ahsoka Tano, Mace Windu, Plo Koon, Kit Fisto, the legendary heroes of a bygone era, now forever with her. Anakin Skywalker, smiling, his work finally finished.

They were with her, but they weren't her. She wasn't guilty of their mistakes and she didn't deserve their glory. Rey looked back to the old woman. "I'm Rey. Just Rey."

She heard the shifting of sand behind her and looked up to see Ben coming out of one of the small buildings. They had each made their own peace with this place, and Rey secretly wondered if either of them would fully understand the prayers and secrets each had whispered to the sand.

But it wasn't time for melancholy reflection. Ben smiled at her, and it was remarkable how much the curve of his mouth was like his grandfather's. Smiles had been such a rare thing for Ben Solo. Rey promised herself she would never stop cherishing each and every one of them.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

Rey nodded. It was time to leave the desert behind for good.

He took her hand, and they walked to the Millennium Falcon, BB-8 cheerily rolling along. Together, they settled into the seats in the cockpit.

Ben glanced at her. "Where to?"

Rey looked up, where the stars waited. "Somewhere green, I think."

Ben laughed. "I'll take you to all the forests in the galaxy."

She laced her fingers through his. "As long as it's with you."

Riding a Falcon, Rey and Ben Solo rose towards the twin suns.


	3. Chapter 3

Ben turned the corner and met a sizzling red blade at his throat.

He stared into Rey's face, pale and gaunt. Her white robes were gone, replaced by a black cloak.

"I did it," she whispered. "I struck him down. And now I am all the Sith." The faintest shadow of regret lingered in her cold eyes. "Leave now, Ben Solo. Or I must strike you down too."

Ben simply locked eyes with her, just like when their minds had first touched in that prison cell. "No."

Rey's features briefly contorted in confusion. "No?"

"No. I'm not leaving. You can't do it, Rey."

"Yes, I can," she hissed. The tip of her lightsaber quivered, hovering closer to his throat.

"Then do it." He deactivated his lightsaber, tossing it away. "Do it!"

Silent tears ran down Rey's face. She shook, as stiff as wood.

"You can't do it." He reached out, taking her icy hands. Her lightsaber fell to the ground, fizzling out. "I know you, Rey."

"They're in me--in my head--telling me, ordering me, to do terrible, terrible things--I don't--"

"It's okay. You don't have to listen to them. You can resist. You are still good." Ben smiled at her. "I'll help you. I have some experience with voices in my head."

Rey melted into his arms. They stayed there, in an embrace, for a very long time.


End file.
